通向福祉之路
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中文
1→通往福祉之道 2→ 3→今晚我将为诸位讲述吠陀中的一则故事。吠陀是印度教的圣典， 4→是一部卷帙浩繁的典籍汇编，其最后一部分称为吠檀多， 5→意为吠陀之终结。它阐发其中所含的理论，尤其是与我们 6→相关的哲学体系。此书以古奥的梵文写成，请诸位牢记， 7→它成书于数千年前。从前有一人，欲行盛大祭祀。在印度教 8→信仰中，祭祀占有举足轻重的地位。祭祀的形式多种多样： 9→他们建造祭坛，向圣火中泼洒祭品，诵读各种颂歌等； 10→祭祀结束时，将礼物馈赠给婆罗门和贫苦之人。 11→每种祭祀都有其特定的馈赠规制。其中有一种祭祀， 12→要求将一人所有的财物悉数奉献。这人虽然富有，却生性吝啬， 13→同时又渴望因完成这一最艰难的祭祀而赢得盛名。于是在行祭时， 14→他并未舍弃所有，而仅仅将那些年迈失明、跛足残疾、 15→再也不能产奶的老牛打发了事。然而他有一个儿子，名叫纳奇凯塔斯， 16→是个聪慧的少年。他目睹父亲馈赠如此寒酸，深思这必将给父亲 17→带来的罪愆，决心以献出自身来弥补其过。于是他走向父亲， 18→问道："您将把我给予谁？"父亲不答，他再三追问，父亲 19→恼怒道："我将你献给阎摩，献给死神。"于是少年径直前往 20→阎摩之国。阎摩不在，他便在那里等候。 21→三日之后，阎摩归来，对他说："婆罗门啊，你是我的客人， 22→你已在此三日未食分毫。我向你致敬，为补偿你所受的辛苦， 23→我将赐予你三个愿望。" 24→于是少年提出第一个愿望："愿父亲对我的愤怒得以平息。" 25→第二个愿望是他想了解某种祭祀的奥秘。接下来是第三个愿望： 26→"当一个人死去，问题便产生：他将去向何方？有人说他不再存在， 27→另有人说他仍然存在。请告诉我答案是什么。这是我所求的 28→第三个愿望。"于是死神答道："上古神明曾试图解开此谜； 29→此谜如此精微，难以知晓。请求别的愿望吧，不要求这一个。 30→求百年的长生吧。求牛马财富，求广阔王国。不要逼迫我 31→作答。无论人所欲之享乐，求诸一切，我皆满足你， 32→但不要想知道这个秘密。""不，先生，"少年说， 33→"人不应满足于财富；若要财富，我们只需见过您，便能得到。 34→我们也将活得与您的统治一样长久。一个衰朽的凡人， 35→生活在下界，若已具备知识，获得了不朽者的陪伴， 36→知晓了歌舞之乐所产生的享乐的本质，他还会沉迷于长生吗？ 37→因此，请告诉我这个关于伟大来世的秘密，我不想要 38→任何别的东西；这就是纳奇凯塔斯所求——死亡的奥秘。" 39→于是，死亡之神感到喜悦。我们在前两三次讲座中一直在说， 40→智慧瑜伽[Jnana Yoga]能够准备心智。于是我们在这里看到， 41→第一个准备就是：人必须除了真理之外什么都不渴求， 42→并且为真理本身而追求真理。看看这位少年如何拒绝了死神 43→给予他的一切礼物：财产、资产、财富、长生，以及一切， 44→他都愿意为了这一个念头而舍弃——唯有知识，唯有真理。 45→唯有如此，真理才能到来。死亡之神感到欢喜。"这里有两条路，" 46→他说，"一条通向享乐，另一条通向福祉。这两条路以种种方式 47→吸引着人类。在这两条路中，选择通向福祉之路者，成为智者； 48→选择享乐之路者，则走向堕落。我赞美你，纳奇凯塔斯； 49→你没有求取欲望。我以种种方式诱惑你走向享乐之路； 50→你抵御了一切，你已明白，知识远高于享乐的生活。 51→ 52→"你明白了，生活在无知中享乐的人，与畜生并无差异。然而 53→有许多人，虽深陷无知，却在内心的傲慢中自以为是伟大的 54→智者，如盲人引导盲人，在许多弯曲的道路上四处转悠。 55→纳奇凯塔斯啊，这一真理在那些如无知孩童般被几块土疙瘩 56→所迷惑的人的心中，永远不会闪耀。他们不了解此世， 57→也不了解彼世。他们否定此世与彼世，因此一再落入我的 58→掌控之中。许多人甚至没有机会听闻此理；而许多听闻之人， 59→也无法知晓，因为授者须是非凡之人；受者亦须是非凡之人， 60→才能承载这知识。若授者非高度进化之人，则纵经百次听闻， 61→百次讲授，真理也永不能照亮灵魂。不要以空洞的争辩 62→扰乱你的心，纳奇凯塔斯；这真理只在已被净化的心中 63→放射光芒。祂难以被看见，祂是隐蔽的，祂已进入 64→心中之心的洞穴——那古老者——不能以外在的眼睛看见； 65→以灵魂之眼看见祂，人便同时舍弃了苦与乐。知晓这一秘密者， 66→舍弃一切空洞的欲望，获得这超精细的感知， 67→从而永远蒙福。纳奇凯塔斯，这便是通往福祉之道。 68→祂超越一切美德，超越一切罪恶，超越一切义务， 69→超越一切非义务，超越一切存在，超越一切将要存在之物； 70→唯知晓此者，方为真知。一切吠陀所寻求的，人为见祂 71→而经历各种苦行的，我将告诉你祂的名字：那就是唵（Om）。 72→这永恒的唵便是梵，这是不朽者；知晓这一秘密者—— 73→他所渴望的一切皆属于他。这人的真我[Atman]，纳奇凯塔斯， 74→你所寻求了解的，永远不会生，也永远不会死。无始， 75→永恒存在，这古老者不因身体的毁灭而毁灭。若杀者认为 76→他能够杀，被杀者认为自己被杀，两者皆是误解，因为 77→真我[Atman]既不能杀，也不能被杀。无限小于最小的粒子， 78→无限大于最大的存在，万物之主居住在每个存在的心中之心的洞穴里。 79→已成为无罪之人，通过同一主的恩典，在祂一切荣耀中看见祂。 80→（我们发现，上帝的恩典是证悟上帝的原因之一。）坐而行远， 81→卧而遍在各处；除了心意纯净精微的人，谁还有资格认识那 82→一切矛盾属性在其中相会的上帝？无身，然而居住于身中， 83→不受触碰，然而表面上似乎在接触，无所不在——知晓阿特曼 84→（Âtman）如是，智者便舍弃一切痛苦。这阿特曼不能通过 85→研习吠陀获得，也不能通过最高的智识或大量的学问获得。 86→真我[Atman]寻求谁，谁便得到真我；祂向他揭示自己的荣耀。 87→那持续行恶之人，那心意不宁之人，那不能静定之人， 88→那始终躁动不安、飘忽不定之人——他不能理解和证悟这进入 89→心中之心洞穴的阿特曼。纳奇凯塔斯啊，这身体是战车， 90→感觉器官是马，心意是缰绳，智识是御者，灵魂是战车中的乘者。 91→当灵魂与御者——菩提（Buddhi）或智识——结合，并通过它 92→与心意（缰绳）结合，再通过它与器官（马）结合， 93→他便被称为享受者；他感知，他劳作，他行动。心意不在 94→掌控之中、缺乏辨别力之人，其感官如同暴烈之马在车夫 95→手中不受控制。然而有辨别力、心意始终受控之人， 96→其器官始终如同在车夫手中的良马那样可以驾驭。有辨别力、 97→心意始终走在理解真理之路上、始终纯洁之人——他获得那真理， 98→达至彼处便不再转世。纳奇凯塔斯啊，这非常艰难， 99→路途遥远，难以达至。只有获得了最精细感知的人，才能看见它， 100→才能理解它。然而不要恐惧。觉醒，起而行动，不要停步 101→直到你抵达目标。因为智者们说，此任务极其艰难， 102→如同走在剃刀的刀刃上。祂超越感官，超越一切接触， 103→超越一切形态，超越一切味道，那不变者，那无限者， 104→甚至超越智识，那不可摧毁者——唯知晓祂，我们方能 105→从死亡的利齿之间得救。" 106→ 107→到此为止，我们看到阎摩描述了所要达至的目标。我们得到的 108→第一个观念是：生死、苦难，以及我们在世间所遭受的种种 109→颠簸，只能通过认识那真实者来超越。何为真实？那永不变易者， 110→人的真我，宇宙之后的真我。其次，有云此真我极难认识。 111→认识不仅意味着理智上的承认，它意味着证悟。我们一再读到， 112→这个真我是要被看见、被感知的。我们不能以眼睛看见它； 113→感知它的能力必须变得超精细。通过眼睛感知墙壁和书本的 114→是粗大感知，但辨别真理所需的感知必须变得极为精细， 115→这就是这种知识的全部秘密。然后阎摩说，人必须极为 116→纯洁。这就是使感知变得超精细的方法；然后他继续 117→告诉我们其他途径。那自存者远离感官。感官或工具向外看， 118→但那自存者、那真我，是向内看见的。你必须记住所要求的 119→资格：通过将眼睛转向内在来认识这个真我的渴望。 120→我们在自然中所见的一切美丽之物都很好，但那不是 121→见到上帝的途径。我们必须学会如何将眼睛转向内在。 122→眼睛向外看的渴望必须受到限制。当你在繁忙的街道上行走， 123→由于来往车辆的噪声，很难听见与你同行之人的讲话。 124→他听不见你，因为有太多噪声。心意正在向外，你听不见 125→就在你旁边的人。同样地，我们周围的这个世界发出如此 126→的喧嚣，将心意向外拉扯。我们如何能看见真我？这种向外 127→的行进必须停止。这就是将眼睛转向内在的含义，唯有那时， 128→内在主的荣耀才会被看见。 129→ 130→这个真我是什么？我们已看到，它甚至超越智识。我们从同一 131→奥义书中得知，这个真我是永恒且无所不在的，你和我以及 132→我们所有人都是无所不在的存在，真我是不变的。现在， 133→这个无所不在的存在只能是一个。不可能有两个同等无所不在 134→的存在——怎么可能呢？不可能存在两个无限的存在， 135→结果是，确实只有一个真我，而你、我和整个宇宙只不过是 136→显现为众多的那同一个。"正如进入世界的那一团火以种种 137→方式显现自身，甚至那唯一的真我，万物的真我，也在每种 138→形态中显现自身。"然而问题是：若这真我是完美纯净的， 139→是宇宙的那唯一存在，当它进入不洁的身体、邪恶的身体、 140→善良的身体等时，会发生什么？它如何能保持完美？ 141→"每只眼睛的视觉之因是同一个太阳，然而它不受任何人 142→眼睛缺陷的影响。"若一个人患有黄疸病，他见什么都是黄色的； 143→他视觉的原因是太阳，但他将一切都视为黄色并不触动太阳。 144→同样，这唯一的存在，尽管是每一个人的真我，也不被 145→外在的纯洁或不洁所触动。"在这一切都是无常的世界中， 146→知晓祂永不变易者；在这无情感的世界中，知晓那唯一 147→有情感的存在者；在这众多的世界中，知晓这唯一者， 148→并在自身灵魂中看见祂者——永恒的至福属于他，不属于 149→别人，不属于别人。那里太阳不照耀，星辰不明亮， 150→闪电不闪烁，何须言火？祂光耀，一切随之光耀； 151→通过祂的光，一切变得光明。当一切困扰心灵的欲望止息， 152→凡人便成为不朽者，在此处便证得梵。当心灵的一切弯曲 153→消失，当其一切结缔均被切断，唯有那时，凡人才成为不朽者。 154→这便是道路。愿这研习赐福于我们；愿它维系我们；愿它 155→赐予我们力量，愿它在我们身中成为能量；愿我们彼此不憎恨； 156→愿平安降临于所有人！" 157→ 158→这便是你在吠檀多哲学中所能找到的思想脉络。我们首先看到， 159→这里有一种思想，与世界其他地方所见的完全不同。在吠陀的 160→最古老部分中，探寻与其他著作相同——探寻是向外的。 161→在一些非常古老的著作中，问题被提出："最初是什么？当既无有 162→又无无，当黑暗笼罩黑暗，谁创造了这一切？"于是探寻开始了。 163→他们开始谈论天使、天神（Devas）以及各种事物，后来我们 164→发现他们将其视为无望而放弃了。在他们的时代，探寻是向外的， 165→他们什么也找不到；但在后来，如我们在吠陀中所读，他们 166→不得不向内寻找那自存者。这是吠陀中一个根本性的观念， 167→即我们在星辰、星云、银河、整个外在宇宙中的探寻， 168→毫无所获，从不能解决生死的问题。内在奇妙的机制必须被 169→分析，它向他们揭示了宇宙的秘密；星辰或太阳无能为此。 170→人必须被剖析；不是身体，而是人的灵魂。在那灵魂中 171→他们找到了答案。他们找到的答案是什么？在身体之后， 172→甚至在心意之后，有那自存者。祂不死，也不生。那自存者 173→是无所不在的，因为祂无形。没有形态或形状之物，不受 174→空间或时间限制之物，不能居住于某一特定之处。怎么可能？ 175→它无处不在，无所不在，同等存在于我们所有人之中。 176→ 177→这是吠陀哲学的思想路线，这是它的最终答案。我们最终 178→回到了内在探寻的主题。答案不在于外在的创造，不在于 179→那些关于天使和神明的故事，而在于内在，在于我们自身之中。 180→外在宇宙的全部伟大只不过是那内在宇宙的有限显现。 181→整个这个外在宇宙只是那内在宇宙的无穷无尽的显现中的一小部分。 182→太阳、月亮、星辰都在我们内在，宇宙中的一切都在那里。 183→灵魂本身就是宇宙。因此，通往真理之路——通往知识之路， 184→不是通过显微镜或望远镜，也不是在外部寻找，而是通过 185→转眼向内，认识人自身的灵魂。你就是你所寻求的那一切。 186→你就是你所寻求认识的。是的，就是你自己这个"你"。 187→"我即梵"——这是哲学，这是终极真理。梵在哪里？ 188→梵是那充溢于一切之中的无处不在者，是时间与空间中无处不在者， 189→是宇宙中无处不在者——而那梵就是你自己。 190→你不是那个小小的个体性，那个小小的躯体，那个小小的心意。 191→你是那无限者。那是吠陀的宣言。真我是梵，个体的真我与 192→宇宙的真我是同一个——这是吠陀的顶峰，吠檀多哲学的 193→终极目标，这是宗教的最高境界。 194→ 195→达至这个真理，知晓这个真理，不仅仅是在智识上，而是在 196→实践上，在生活中，在存在的每一个原子中感受它—— 197→这便是宗教，这便是灵性。因此，这些伟大的教导的全部 198→目的就是让我们走上这条路，指引我们认识我们自己， 199→认识我们是什么——我们是无限的。吠陀的整个宗旨， 200→所有宗教的宗旨，所有哲学的宗旨，皆在于此。 201→ 202→从人的内在来了解宇宙，不要向外寻找，要向内寻找—— 203→这是所有宗教的基本命题，也是使得吠陀哲学的结论 204→如此深刻、如此内在一致的东西。不是外在的上帝， 205→而是内在的自我——这是吠陀哲学给我们的答案。
1→人的灵魂是什么？一方派主张存在一位上帝，以及无数个灵魂， 2→这些灵魂在本质上、形态上乃至一切方面都与上帝永恒分离。 3→这便是二元论。这是古老而粗朴的观念。另一派的回答则是： 4→灵魂乃无限神性存在的一部分。正如此身本身是一个小宇宙， 5→其后是心意或思想，其后又是个体灵魂；同样地，整个宇宙 6→是一个躯体，其后是宇宙心意，其后是宇宙灵魂。正如此身 7→是宇宙之身的一部分，此心意是宇宙心意的一部分， 8→人的灵魂亦是宇宙灵魂的一部分。此即所谓毗湿奴 9→限制性不二论（Vishishtadvaita），即有别不二论。试问， 10→宇宙灵魂乃无限，无限如何能有部分？它如何能被分割？ 11→说"我是无限的一粒火花"，诗意甚美，然于理性心智 12→而言，实属荒谬。何谓分割无限？无限乃物质乎，可以 13→切割分离？无限永不可分。若能分割，便已非无限。 14→那么结论是什么？答案是：那遍在的灵魂便是你； 15→你不是其部分，而是其全体。你就是上帝的全体。 16→那么这些种种差异从何而来？我们眼见如此众多的个体灵魂。 17→这些是什么？若太阳照耀于千万水珠，每一水珠中皆映现 18→太阳之形——完美的映像；然而这些不过是映像，真实的 19→太阳只有一个。同样，我们每个人心中那表现出来的灵魂， 20→不过是上帝的映像，此外无他。真实的存在，隐于其后， 21→就是那唯一的上帝。我们在那里都是合一的。作为真我[Atman]， 22→宇宙中只有一个。它存在于我之中，也存在于你之中， 23→只是同一个；那同一个真我已在所有这些不同的身体中 24→反映为各种不同的自我。然而我们不知此理，以为我们 25→彼此分离，也与祂分离。正因如此，苦难便弥漫于世。这便是幻象[Maya]。 26→ 27→苦难的另一大根源是恐惧。为何一人要伤害另一人？因为他担心 28→自己享乐不足。一人忧虑自己或许钱财不够，这种恐惧 29→驱使他伤害他人、掠夺他人。若宇宙只有一种存在， 30→恐惧从何而生？若雷霆击中我的头颅，那也是我—— 31→因为我是唯一的存在。若瘟疫来临，那是我；若猛虎到来， 32→那是我；若死亡来临，那是我。我既是死亡，也是生命。 33→我们看到，恐惧随着宇宙中存在二元的观念而生。我们常听到 34→有人宣讲："要彼此相爱。"为何如此？此教义曾被宣讲， 35→而解释就在此处。我为何应当爱所有人？因为他们与我是一体。 36→为何我应爱我的兄弟？因为他与我是一体。这种合一性， 37→整个宇宙的团结一体，从在我们脚下爬行的最微小的虫子， 38→到有史以来最崇高的生命——一切都有各种不同的躯体， 39→但都是同一个灵魂。通过所有的口，你在进食；通过所有的手， 40→你在劳作；通过所有的眼，你在观看。你在千万个身体中 41→享受健康，你也在千万个身体中饱受疾病之苦。当这一念头 42→降临，当我们认识它、看见它、感受它，苦难将会止息， 43→恐惧亦将消散。我怎么可能死去？我之外别无他物。 44→恐惧止息，唯有那时，完美的幸福与完美的爱才会来临。 45→那种普世的同情、普世的爱、普世的喜乐，永不变易， 46→将人提升至一切之上。它没有反应，苦难无从触及它； 47→然而世间这些饮食男女之事，总是带来反应。这一切的根本 48→原因就是这种二元论——认为我与宇宙分离，与上帝分离的观念。 49→但一旦我们领悟到"我即祂，我是宇宙的真我[Atman]，我永恒蒙福， 50→永恒自由"——那时真正的爱将会到来，恐惧将消逝， 51→一切苦难将告终结。
English
THE WAY TO BLESSEDNESS
I shall tell you a story from the Vedas tonight. The Vedas are the sacred scriptures of the Hindus and are a vast collection of literature, of which the last part is called the Vedanta, meaning the end of the Vedas. It deals with the theories contained in them, and more especially the philosophy with which we are concerned. It is written in archaic Sanskrit, and you must remember it was written thousands of years ago. There was a certain man who wanted to make a big sacrifice. In the religion of the Hindus, sacrifice plays a great part. There are various sorts of sacrifices. They make altars and pour oblations into the fire, and repeat various hymns and so forth; and at the end of the sacrifice they make a gift to the Brahmins and the poor. Each sacrifice has its peculiar gift. There was one sacrifice, where everything a man possessed had to be given up. Now this man, though rich, was miserly, and at the same time wanted to get a great name for having done this most difficult sacrifice. And when he did this sacrifice, instead of giving up everything he had, he gave away only his blind, lame, and old cows that would never more give milk. But he had a son called Nachiketas, a bright young boy, who, observing the poor gifts made by his father, and pondering on the demerit that was sure to accrue to him thereby, resolved to make amends for them by making a gift of himself. So he went to his father and said, "And to whom will you give me?" The father did not answer the boy, and the boy asked a second and a third time, when the father got vexed and said, "Thee I give unto Yama, thee I give unto Death." And the boy went straight to the kingdom of Yama. Yama was not at home, so he waited there. After three days Yama came and said to him, "O Brahmin, thou art my guest, and thou hast been here for three days without any food. I salute thee, and in order to repay thee for this trouble, I will grant thee three boons." Then the boy asked the first boon, "May my father's anger against me get calmed down," and the second boon was that he wanted to know about a certain sacrifice. And then came the third boon. "When a man dies, the question arises: What becomes of him: Some people say he ceases to exist. Others say that he exists. Please tell me what the answer is. This is the third boon that I want." Then Death answered, "The gods in ancient times tried to unravel the mystery; this mystery is so fine that it is hard to know. Ask for some other boon: do not ask this one. Ask for a long life of a hundred years. Ask for cattle and horses, ask for great kingdoms. Do not press me to answer this. Whatever man desires for his enjoyment, ask all that and I will fulfil it, but do not want to know this secret." "No sir," said the boy, man is not to be satisfied with wealth; if wealth were wanted, we should "get it, if we have only seen you. We shall also live so long as you rule. What decaying mortal, living in the world below and possessed of knowledge, having gained the company of the undecaying and the immortal, will delight in long life, knowing the nature of the pleasure produced by song and sport? Therefore, tell me this secret about the great hereafter, I do not want anything else; that is what Nachiketas wants, the mystery of death." Then the God of death was pleased. We have been saying in the last two or three lectures that this Jnâna prepares the mind. So you see here that the first preparation is that a man must desire nothing else but the truth, and truth for truth's sake. See how this boy rejected all these gifts which Death offered him; possessions, property, wealth, long life, and everything he was ready to sacrifice for this one idea, knowledge only, the truth. Thus alone can truth come. The God of death became pleased. "Here are two ways," he said, "one of enjoyment, the other of blessedness. These two in various ways draw mankind. He becomes a sage who, of these two, takes up that which leads to blessedness, and he degenerates who takes up the road to enjoyment. I praise you, Nachiketas; you have not asked for desire. In various ways I tempted you towards the path of enjoyment; you resisted them all, you have known that knowledge is much higher than a life of enjoyment.
"You have understood that the man who lives in ignorance and enjoys, is not different from the brute beast. Yet there are many who, though steeped in ignorance, in the pride of their hearts, think that they are great sages and go round and round in many crooked ways, like the blind led by the blind. This truth, Nachiketas, never shines in the heart of those who are like ignorant children, deluded by a few lumps of earth. They do not understand this world, nor the other world. They deny this and the other one, and thus again and again come under my control. Many have not even the opportunity to hear about it; and many, though hearing, cannot know it, because the teacher must be wonderful; so must he be wonderful too unto whom the knowledge is carried. If the speaker is a man who is not highly advanced, then even a hundred times heard, and a hundred times taught, the truth never illumines the soul. Do not disturb your mind by vain arguments, Nachiketas; this truth only becomes effulgent in the heart which has been made pure. He who cannot be seen without the greatest difficulty, He who is hidden, He who has entered the cave of the heart of hearts — the Ancient One — cannot be seen with the external eyes; seeing Him with the eyes of the soul, one gives up both pleasure and pain. He who knows this secret gives up all his vain desires, and attains this superfine perception, and thus becomes ever blessed. Nachiketas, that is the way to blessedness. He is beyond all virtue, beyond all vice, beyond all duties, beyond all non-duties, beyond all existence, beyond all that is to be; he who knows this, alone knows. He whom all the Vedas seek, to see whom men undergo all sorts of asceticism, I will tell you His name: It is Om. This eternal Om is the Brahman, this is the immortal One; he who knows the secret of this — whatever he desires is his. This Self of man, Nachiketas, about which you seek to know, is never born, and never dies. Without beginning, ever existing, this Ancient One is not destroyed, when the body is destroyed. If the slayer thinks that he can slay, and if the slain man thinks he is slain, both are mistaken, for neither can the Self kill, nor can It be killed. Infinitely smaller than the smallest particle, infinitely greater than the greatest existence, the Lord of all lives in the cave of the heart of every being. He who has become sinless sees Him in all His glory, through the mercy of the same Lord. (We find that the mercy of God is one of the causes of God-realisation.) Sitting He goes far, lying He goes everywhere; who else but men of purified and subtle understanding are qualified to know the God in whom all conflicting attributes meet? Without body, yet living in the body, untouched, yet seemingly in contact, omnipresent — knowing the Âtman to be such, the sage gives up all misery. This Atman is not to be attained by the study of the Vedas, nor by the highest intellect, nor by much learning. Whom the Atman seeks, he gets the Atman; unto him He discloses His glory. He who is continuously doing evil deeds, he whose mind is not calm, he who cannot meditates he who is always disturbed and fickle — he cannot understand and realise this Atman who has entered the cave of the heart. This body, O Nachiketas, is the chariot, the organs of the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins, the intellect is the charioteer, and the soul is the rider in the chariot. When the soul joins himself with the charioteer, Buddhi or intellect, and then through it with the mind, the reins, and through it again with the organs, the horses, he is said to be the enjoyer; he perceives, he works, he acts. He whose mind is not under control, and who has no discrimination, his senses are not controllable like vicious horses in the hands of a driver. But he who has discrimination, whose mind is controlled, his organs are always controllable like good horses in the hands of a driver. He who has discrimination, whose mind is always in the way to understand truth, who is always pure — he receives that truth, attaining which there is no rebirth. This, O Nachiketas, is very difficult, the way is long, and it is hard to attain. It is only those who have attained the finest perception that can see it, that can understand it. Yet do not be frightened. Awake, be up and doing. Do not stop till you have reached the goal. For the sages say that the task is very difficult, like walking on the edge of a razor. He who is beyond the senses, beyond all touch, beyond all form, beyond all taste, the Unchangeable, the Infinite, beyond even intelligence, the Indestructible — knowing Him alone, we are safe from the jaws of death."
So far, we see that Yama describes the goal that is to be attained. The first idea that we get is that birth, death, misery, and the various tossings about to which we are subject in the world can only be overcome by knowing that which is real. What is real? That which never changes, the Self of man, the Self behind the universe. Then, again, it is said that it is very difficult to know Him. Knowing does not mean simply intellectual assent, it means realisation. Again and again we have read that this Self is to be seen, to be perceived. We cannot see it with the eyes; the perception for it has to become superfine. It is gross perception by which the walls and books are perceived, but the perception to discern the truth has to be made very fine, and that is the whole secret of this knowledge. Then Yama says that one must be very pure. That is the way to making the perception superfine; and then he goes on to tell us other ways. That self-existent One is far removed from the organs. The organs or instruments see outwards, but the self-existing One, the Self, is seen inwards. You must remember the qualification that is required: the desire to know this Self by turning the eyes inwards. All these beautiful things that we see in nature are very good, but that is not the way to see God. We must learn how to turn the eyes inwards. The eagerness of the eyes to see outwards should be restricted. When you walk in a busy street, it is difficult to hear the man speak with whom you are walking, because of the noise of the passing carriages. He cannot hear you because there is so much noise. The mind is going outwards, and you cannot hear the man who is next to you. In the same way, this world around us is making such a noise that it draws the mind outwards. How can we see the Self? This going outwards must be stopped. That is what is meant by turning the eyes inwards, and then alone the glory of the Lord within will be seen.
What is this Self? We have seen that It is even beyond the intellect. We learn from the same Upanishad that this Self is eternal and omnipresent, that you and I and all of us are omnipresent beings, and that the Self is changeless. Now this omnipresent Being can be only one. There cannot be two beings who are equally omnipresent — how could that be? There cannot be two beings who are infinite, and the result is, there is really only one Self, and you, I, and the whole universe are but one, appearing as many. "As the one fire entering into the world manifests itself in various ways, even so that one Self, the Self of all, manifests Itself in every form." But the question is: If this Self is perfect and pure, and the One Being of the universe, what becomes of It when It goes into the impure body, the wicked body, the good body, and so on? How can It remain perfect? "The one sun is the cause of vision in every eye, yet it is not touched by the defects in the eyes of any." If a man has jaundice he sees everything as yellow; the cause of his vision is the sun, but his seeing everything as yellow does not touch the sun. Even so this One Being, though the Self of every one, is not touched by the purities or impurities outside. "In this world where everything is evanescent, he who knows Him who never changes, in this world of insentience, he who knows the one sentient Being, in this world of many, he who knows this One and sees Him in his own soul, unto him belongs eternal bliss, to none else, to none else. There the sun shines not, nor the stars, nor the lightning flashes, what to speak of fire? He shining, everything shines; through His light everything becomes effulgent. When all the desires that trouble the heart cease, then the mortal becomes immortal, and here one attains Brahman. When all the crookedness of the heart disappears, when all its knots are cut asunder, then alone the mortal becomes immortal. This is the way. May this study bless us; may it maintain us; may it give us strength, may it become energy in us; may we not hate each other; peace unto all!"
This is the line of thought that you will find in the Vedanta philosophy. We see first that here is a thought entirely different from what you see anywhere else in the world. In the oldest parts of the Vedas the search was the same as in other books, the search was outside. In some of the old, old books, the question was raised, "What was in the beginning? When there was neither aught nor naught, when darkness was covering darkness, who created all this?" So the search began. And they began to talk about the angels, the Devas, and all sorts of things, and later on we find that they gave it up as hopeless. In their day the search was outside and they could find nothing; but in later days, as we read in the Vedas, they had to look inside for the self-existent One. This Is the one fundamental idea in the Vedas, that our search in the stars, the nebulae, the Milky Way, in the whole of this external universe leads to nothing, never solves the problem of life and death. The wonderful mechanism inside had to be analysed, and it revealed to them the secret of the universe; nor star or sun could do it. Man had to be anatomised; not the body, but the soul of man. In that soul they found the answer. What was the answer they found? That behind the body, behind even the mind, there is the self-existent One. He dies not, nor is He born. The self-existent One it omnipresent, because He has no form. That which has no form or shape, that which is not limited by space or time, cannot live in a certain place. How can it? It is everywhere, omnipresent, equally present through all of us.
What is the soul of man? There was one party who held that there is a Being, God, and an infinite number of souls besides, who are eternally separate from God in essence, and form, and everything. This is dualism. This is the old, old crude idea. The answer given by another party was that the soul was a part of the infinite Divine Existence. Just as this body is a little world by itself, and behind it is the mind or thought, and behind that is the individual soul, similarly, the whole world is a body, and behind that is the universal mind, and behind that is the universal Soul. Just as this body is a portion of the universal body, so this mind is a portion of the universal mind, and the soul of man a portion of the universal Soul. This is what is called the Vishishtâdvaita, qualified monism. Now, we know that the universal Soul is infinite. How can infinity have parts? How can it be broken up, divided? It may be very poetic to say that I am a spark of the Infinite, but it is absurd to the thinking mind. What is meant by dividing Infinity? Is it something material that you can part or separate it into pieces? Infinite can never be divided. If that were possible, it would be no more Infinite. What is the conclusion then? The answer is, that Soul which is the universal is you; you are not a part but the whole of It. You are the whole of God. Then what are all these varieties? We find so many millions of individual souls. What are they? If the sun reflects upon millions of globules of water, in each globule is the form, the perfect image of the sun; but they are only images, and the real sun is only one. So this apparent soul that is in every one of us is only the image of God, nothing beyond that. The real Being who is behind, is that one God. We are all one there. As Self, there is only one in the universe. It is in me and you, and is only one; and that one Self has been reflected in all these various bodies as various different selves. But we do not know this; we think we are separate from each other and separate from Him. And so long as we think this, misery will be in the world. This is hallucination.
Then the other great source of misery is fear. Why does one man injure another? Because he fears he will not have enough enjoyment. One man fears that, perhaps, he will not have enough money, and that fear causes him to injure others and rob them. How can there be fear if there is only one existence? If a thunderbolt falls on my head, it was I who was the thunderbolt, because I am the only existence. If a plague comes, it is I; if a tiger comes, it is I. If death comes, it is I. I am both death and life. We see that fear comes with the idea that there are two in the universe. We have always heard it preached, "Love one another". What for? That doctrine was preached, but the explanation is here. Why should I love every one? Because they and I are one. Why should I love my brother? Because he and I are one. There is this oneness; this solidarity of the whole universe. From the lowest worm that crawls under our feet to the highest beings that ever lived — all have various bodies, but are the one Soul. Through all mouths, you eat; through all hands, you work; through all eyes, you see. You enjoy health in millions of bodies, you are suffering from disease in millions of bodies. When this idea comes, and we realise it, see it, feel it, then will misery cease, and fear with it. How can I die? There is nothing beyond me. Fear ceases, and then alone comes perfect happiness and perfect love. That universal sympathy, universal love, universal bliss, that never changes, raises man above everything. It has no reactions and no misery can touch it; but this little eating and drinking of the world always brings a reaction. The whole cause of it is this dualism, the idea that I am separate from the universe, separate from God. But as soon as we have realised that "I am He, I am the Self of the universe, I am eternally blessed, eternally free" — then will come real love, fear will vanish, and all misery cease.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。